


Until The Day We Meet Again

by Skullsarising



Series: The Fear of Being Followed [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi gets involved somehow and isn't a bad guy, Akira is just confused at what's happening, If this blows up I'll write a post-events series, M/M, Ryuji has the hots for someone, Ryuji is very unsure of himself after several run ins with Morgana, im really excited to share this tbh, it might get heavy, it's during the events of the phantom thieves, mostly focuses on Ryuji's pov but might include a few chapters from akechi's pov or the antagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22909879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullsarising/pseuds/Skullsarising
Summary: Ryuji Sakamoto had never had to experience the fear of being followed.Until he was, and with it brought a fear he never knew would last.
Series: The Fear of Being Followed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646662
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. It's Kinda Hard To Breathe With No Air

**Author's Note:**

> Note;  
> This story will contain heavy topics, such as Paranoia, Mentions of Abuse, and Low Self-Esteem issues. if you're not comfortable reading any of these, I may suggest you to not read this story. Further notes will indicate any possible triggers.

For days, he had been feeling off . Something strange tickled the younger Sakamoto , left the hairs at the back of his neck to stand up . He blamed it on the nearly non-existent summer breeze , but his guts told him more . Hurrying his way towards Shibuya station , Ryuji strung his fingers a little tighter around his backpack strap . The sun shone perfectly , just a few clouds bothering the light blue sky . The trees seemed to rustle , as did several bushes- children were out with their parents , trying to enjoy the sunny weather, the extra food trucks. A juice shop, looking rather cheap, seemed to lure Ryuji in. Before he knew it, he had taken a step towards and a few minutes passed before he was holding a watermelon drink with an extra slice added atop - perfect for the day . As he greedily slurped at the plastic straw , and grimaced at the taste of the seeds , he drew out his phone . Akira had messaged about a meeting at their hideout , and as he just so happened to be in the area , Ryuji reached the place rather quick .

“ ‘sup. “ Ann‘s eyes looked longingly at the sweet drink, reaching to take a sip . Ryuji complied , receiving a glare from Morgana .

His annoyed little cat-tone followed right after .

“ This isn’t the time for drinks, put that down! “ rolling his eyes, Ryuji took it back from Panther, and as the ( false ) delinquent he was , went in against him . He slurped extra loudly, mischief hidden in his eyes behind the widest of smirks he had ever flashed him. “ it’s always the time for drinks, Mona. Ain’t anyone complainin’ but you. “

Akira suppressed a chuckle as Yusuke sighed with amusement. Their leader spoke up again soon, to interrupt whatever argument they could have. People might stare if someone is arguing with a meowing cat.

“ Guys , our lists of targets for Mementos have been piling up. We should go today. “ he stated strongly . Everyone seemed to agree. Even Makoto, whom had caught just the very last bit of the conversation- her face looked a bit red, breathing just slightly ragged . She smiled shyly while explaining the delay of her train and having to walk all the way. Ryuji’s nose scrunched up at the thought, the scar upon his thigh itching a bit. Even a runner would have trouble running for this long just to be in time for the meeting-

“ Oh , you didn’t need to run ! We were going to wait ; no going in Mementos without you. “ Ann chimed , flashing a cheeky smile towards the brunette girl . And before anyone even realised what was happening, the sickening feeling of being twisted in a too tight package brimmed to the top of their heads . Not that much later, when their eyes flew open with a few blinks, they noticed that their surroundings had shifted to the familiar ones of the cognitive train station .

“ Let’s go . We know our targets—“ Akira was brutally interrupted by a scoffing Ryuji.

“ Ah man, my drink’s all over me . What the eff happened— I paid for that shit ! “ Morgana chuckled lightly . “ I told you we didn’t have time for drinks . “

“ Shuddup , stupid cat . I’ll just have to jog around with watermelon seeds all over my effin’ body . “

Their day went by slowly in Mementos . Fighting off shadows until he could deal with several targets they had to do— By the end of it, Ryuji felt several bruises forming upon his body, and some bloody scratches upon his arms. It was nothing unusual, and it would only last in Mementos for a little while . Though he felt drained , and the others seemed to be , too , Ryuji felt obliged to help as much as he could . Their last target had just been defeated and Akira called it a day , much to everyone’s luck and relief . His facial expression relaxed , and soon enough , they were back in their own world - the one Ryuji knew was real .

“ Do you want to go to Leblanc, stay the night? It might be nice to , uh , sit back for a while and drink whatever we wanna . Sojiro won’t mind . “ Akira caught up to the blond , smiling over at his friend with a bright expression . Though the exhaustion on both their faces was obvious, neither minded the company until school started again tomorrow .

“ Uh, sure . Gotta pass my mom’s on the way home though . Still got some leftovers from lunch that I’m bringing her . “ Akira nodded along . It was on their way , no bother whatsoever . The evening had fallen mercilessly , and night was trying to be one step ahead of them. By the time they arrived at Leblanc, hours had passed . Their train had been busy - as per usual - they had barely managed to squeeze through the doors . Nonetheless , their arrival was secure .

But there was that feeling again . As if he was being watched— no, it couldn’t be true . Ryuji shook it off like the many comments he got from Mona moaning about his rather vulgar appearance . Just a joke to him.

As time progressed playing video games until it was early morning, Ryuji found himself scurrying back to his mom's with no sleep whatsoever. Whatever, it didn't matter much. He waved Akira goodbye and parted on his way to the station, hair messy and dark bags littering the area right beneath his eyes. If Yusuke was here, he'd scold him for his uncared for appearance. But Ryuji being Ryuji, he didn't pay all that much attention to it.

Ryuji fiddled with his keys to open up the door to his apartment, finding it utterly trashed-- not that it normally was tidy, but the sight chilled the young blond horrendously. 

Eyes falling open, tears brimming at the edges and mouth hanging open against his will. His body felt numb, useless, as he called out for his mom, and was met with no response. The lock on their door was forced, their dining table had broken down and shattered- hell, even one of the ancient vases that used to belong to his father's mother was smashed and shattered. Books laid ripped from their shelves.. Ryuji's heart sank as his fingers traced the outline of a cut in their wallpaper. 

It left no doubt within his scared mind : someone had taken his mother. 

_Lad?_

Ryuji faintly heard Captain Kidd's voice call out to him, but his mind was too buzzed, too stunned to respond properly. 

_Lad?_

_..._

_LAD!_

What happened here? 

_There's a note- pick it up, lad, it might be important._

Ryuji mindlessly walked to piece of paper at the edge of their ripped couch, taking it within his shaky hands. The words were turning blurry as tears filled his eyes and brimmed over the edge - hard to read, hard to breathe, hard to comprehend what was happening. But there it was, the note, and Kidd was reading it to him instead. 

_If you tell anyone about this, I'll make your mother pay._

And that alone was enough to send a frightened Ryuji Sakamoto crashing to the ground. 


	2. Whatever you say, Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unknown number had messaged him, and deleted it right away. Strange, but he waved it off quickly. Probably just some random weirdo who had messaged the wrong number. Happened all the time, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it might look like this story is going slow but I promise it will progress smoothly from now on ...

Ryuji's eyes flew open. It was just a dream. Just a bad, bad dream. His mother was safe, home- no doubt. Breathing ragged, distraught wide eyes, and darkness encountered him with a vicious smile. Akira's light snores were the only thing that filled the unlit and chilly room. Never had he ever dreamed as much as he had now-- besides the frequent night terrors when he was a young child. Normally, his dreams were void ; black, empty, non-existent. He didn't know why it had changed. 

Gazing at his phone screen and swiping to unlock, Sakamoto glanced at the time for a few seconds before it actually sunk in. 

Hadn't Boss noticed that it was nearly 8 am on a school day..? 

Ryuji reached for his frizzy haired friend, lightly shaking his shoulders. "Wake up, dude. We ain't got time to spare." Akira groaned and grumbled before opening his eyes lightly. Morgana was still fast asleep as well, right next to the half-awake body of their leader. Rubbing the sleep out of his own eyes 'til black stars appeared, he quickly threw on his school uniform. Akira had started to do the same as Ryuji hopped down the stairs of the attic. 

His dream prior still worried him. Did it mean something? All he knew, was that the urge to go home and check upon his mom was bigger than ever. Thus, he quickly sent her a message and anxiously waited for a reply he knew wouldn't come till after her shift at work. It was worth a try, he supposed. 

Sojiro greeted the blond teen with a half-and-half smile, most definitely not content with the minutes striking by. Though his lips wore a kind smile, he couldn't keep it up all that long. "Hoo boy, hurry up before you're too late for school." It was true that bad attendance raised suspicion, certainly for their leader, but there wasn't a reason to not slack off some more time. They were late already, what need was there to hurry up and make the teens even more distraught than they were? Ryuji and Akira decided to leave without breakfast, warping together a quick package of noodles and curry before leaving for school. 

That feeling followed him everywhere. As if.. No. Not again. His mind made him wander off so much that even Goro Akechi, their newest addition to the Phantom Thieves, noticed the tiredness within his eyes. 

"What is the matter, Sakamoto?" Akechi's ruby eyes flashed the young blond a cast-away glance, taking note of his unusual silence.  
"Nothin'."  
As if. Everyone knows that a fishy answer like that means exactly the opposite.  
Akechi is smart enough to understand. 

Akira narrowed his eyes to determine if it was a complete lie, which it obviously was- but when Sakamoto was set upon not telling, there wasn't a word that he'd let slip. 

The subway and train were equally as cramped as on any other school day- impossible to sit or have a normal conversation without the buzzing of phones, or people listening into what they thought was an interesting opinion. Ryuji was glad when their destination came, and he could finally push past dozens of people and end up in the cool summer breeze. 

"Finally some effin' air- Those trains are way too cramped." His voice became slightly higher at the end of his sentence, causing Akira to gaze over, nodding to his statement.  
"At least we're not all too late." And with that, the both of them separated to go to their different classrooms. 

His mind drifted off elsewhere as he sunk down in his seat; he didn't care about all these people staring down at him with a disapproving look- as to say "Shame on you, Sakamoto, it's no surprise you're late again." It made his blood boil- they would praise him if they knew what he did for their sake. All for them. Not specifically, maybe, but in a sense. Those rotten adults truly did deserve to be served a hot pot of justice- and he felt like an expert when it came to that. 

After some scolding from his teacher - "You're a useless student, Sakamoto, pay attention!" - and several other degrading comments, Ryuji left his classroom to meet up with his friends for lunch at the rooftop. Ann and Akira soon enough greeted him, with a reluctant comment from Morgana at his messy appearance. Ryuji waved it off soon enough and used it as his pride- truly not giving a damn. Why would he when he was already labeled as a delinquent? Livin' up to his name. 

The constant checking of his phone didn't go unnoticed. Now that he had a moment to breathe, the nightmare he had earlier stuck to his brain. Still, he couldn't make out what it truly meant.. Was it a vision of somethin'? Just an odd dream? Whatever.. Still. 

"You're really not gonna talk, huh?" Ann chimed towards her blond friend. Ryuji rolled his eyes at her, "Not you, too? I can't catch a break, this is effin nuts." He knew he was out of bounds by the looks of disbelief on both Ann's and Haru's face, though he couldn't be bothered for now. Clearing his throat, he straightened his back and stood. "Whatever, imma take a leak." And with just that, he was exiting the rooftop and making his way down the many stairs. His leg ached from the movement- his scar seemed to be hurting more and more these days. it was just an illusion, he knew, but he wouldn't care. After all, like everyone just told him, it was probably nothing. 

After the rest of tiring classes, he decided to head straight home. No more waiting for Akira to go train or even go out for dinner. No, straight home. His mom wouldn't be home for a few hours, but he would use the time to occupy himself with completing a game he had tried to complete for months now. 

Upon opening the door, he released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Everything was still intact- he could faintly smell left over ramen that his mother had left upon their - unscathed - breakfast table. Never had he been so happy to see their untidy, yet tidy enough apartment. he didn't even scrunch up his nose at the smell of bitter coffee- something he usually hated. 

Slumping down upon their futon, he reached for his phone. Several people had messaged him- telling him to meet at the hideout. Normally he'd be the first to reply- but right now, all he desired was to be home before his mom was. They could travel in mementos without him, right? He wasn't their strongest teammate- that was Akechi, Yusuke and Makoto for sure- without counting in their powerful leader. He had to say, even Mona Mona was a vital asset , as much as he hated to admit it. 

He didn't want to meet his friends' angry glares tomorrow for leaving them in the dark like this-- The young Sakamoto knew well enough that it was a suspicious thing to do after his outburst earlier that day. But he was absent minded, and his support wouldn't be appreciated. There was no help in standing in the way, he'd rather just stay away if that was the case. 

Thus, he ignored the several calls. The only one he'd accept was from his mother, but it never came. By the time she came home, around 9pm, Ryuji had already ordered some ramen for the both of them and Put it on their plates. A hug was in its place as well, certainly when he thought back about what had kept him uneasy all day... It made him both grumpy, and soft, and unsure of how to behave. 

"Why do I deserve that for?" Mother Sakamoto smiled as her son lunged himself in her arms, hugging him back warmly. She knew something was up- like every mother would sense upon seeing their child like this- though knowing Ryuji well enough, decided not to ask right away. Instead, she praised him for helping her out with dinner and making it easier on her. She earned a small smile from her son, the best gift she could ever receive. 

After a while of silence, the older Sakamoto spoke. 

"What's wrong, honey?" Ryuji glanced upwards, head tilting to the side. One way or another, his mother knew him better than he knew himself. Leaning backwards in his chair and crossing his arms, he huffed just slightly- nearly as if he hesitated to tell. 

"I just had a bad dream last night.. And I overslept, got Akira in trouble as well. And-" His mother interrupted, "Snapped at your friends?" The blond nodded. Though the woman didn't seem mad at all. In fact, she understood. Ryuji looked away for just a split second. He wasn't in the mood to tell any further- Most of all, he just wanted to enjoy the time he got to spent with her. With her having multiple jobs, Ryuji didn't get to see her often. 

He broke their silence soon enough, just by clearing their plates and cleaning them, before wishing her goodnight. ignoring all the messages he had gotten from his friends, he scrolled mindlessly through his unopened ones. At least 5 chats were filled with a mixture of worried and angry messages-- but one caught his eye. 

An unknown number had messaged him, and deleted it right away. Strange, but he waved it off quickly. Probably just some random weirdo who had messaged the wrong number. Happened all the time, right? 

If only he hadn't ...


	3. What is there to investigate, precisely?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There has been an unsolved case given to me by my colleagues. It concerns reports of a man following people, yet disappearing when near being found. The only link so far is that every person whom has reported something, has a connection to Shujin Academy," he licked his lips briefly, "If I may, I would like to ask some shadows if they know more of this man, and perhaps, if they have encountered him. If my deductions are right, he may be looking for someone, and before their time runs out, I want to know who."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is written in Akechi's pov and will hopefully give you a view into what's going on ..

Goro Akechi's ruby eyes scanned throughout several police reports with a sigh ; all these confusing cases gave him a headache-- The chatters of his different personas were trying to get through to him with not much success at all. He focused himself upon the tiny little letters of the third file again. Though he had read it a few times, along with the other 7 files, he couldn't help but miss the connection. Of course, it all was similar in a sense, but out of the way of one another- it just didn't seem connected. 

Yet, his " friends " at the force had requested his help. Begged him, even. Not for the sake of their people, but because they wanted it gone. None other could solve cases like Boy Wonder, right? 

Wrong.

Goro hated having to work his arse off for the benefit of the police force- as if being with the phantom thieves, as well as being Shido's right hand wasn't enough. He had more than enough on his plate, catching any more would be bothersome. Yet he had committed to a case far more complicated than it seemed with just a glance-

Several people around the Yongen and Shibuya area had filed complaints about a man following them. Though just one person had managed to catch a glimpse- and not a good one at that. The stalker always seemed to wear black, and cover his face. Besides all that, he must be able to blend in the crowd as no one found him after that. If this was all there was to the case- it wouldn't make it worth his precious time. No murder, no assault, nothing to go on but the suspicion of being stalked one time, and being left alone afterwards. But if the Police had seen something in it, the Ace Detective had no choice but to follow along. 

Deeper into the story, Goro had started to notice some abnormalities. Nothing connected. None of the victims seemed to connect to one another. Not even a single link but one ; Shujin Academy. Gazing down further in time lines, there definitely were some connections to the ordinary prep school which happened to be the school that housed the phantom thieves ... It got him wondering if perhaps, they were connected to it in any manner. 

One of the cases seemed to be from a teacher at the school, the other of a boy from the former track team. Those two were the most obvious out of all seven-- but there was more. A woman midst her 40s reported about the man being spotted near the school- the place she had just exited from after dropping of her child. Frankly, she mentioned started feeling as if she was being followed, and stopped in her tracks. Someone had bumped into her, she told, a kind man who apologised as soon as he did. The woman wrote that he looked as if he was in a hurry. but when she looked around, she couldn't find the man that had followed her. He was gone, just like that. But perhaps, Akechi thought, this man was the man that had followed her. Maybe she was the only one whom had gotten close to the mysterious stalker... But if that was so, and he found out who it was, would it be worth it bringing it to court? 

No, Goro thought not. If the culprit chose to act with violence towards the future, it may get relevant and spoken about. For now, he was the only person that would worry about it. 

His cup of coffee had gotten cold, his tongue poked out of his mouth just slightly as he, completely lost in thought, tried to understand the reason behind such odd behaviour. Who was this man, damnit? Why was he not acting upon it? Was there even a man at all? With seven different reports, it was hard to believe otherwise. Not to speak of the people that hadn't reported it. Perhaps he'd go into Mementos later, try to find out their identity through there. It was an advantage, he was well aware, but sometimes, the brunet did not care. Guilt would eat at him later.

He shot up from his thoughts at the beeping of his phone, a stream of messages coming in at once. It took a while to read them all the way up ; apparently, Sakamoto had not shown up for their meeting. Akechi messaged his short reply : ' I am on my way , apologies for my lateness ' . And left it at that. Closing the files, he rubbed his temples. Nijima-senpai would most likely still be at the office, but Akechi would leave before she had a moment to ask why. it was better to avoid her ruin than live through it- the day was still rather young and he was supposed to stay much longer than this. However, he would continue work at his house later. 

Advancing his way through the building, he made sure to clench the files to his chest ( without messing up his shirt, may I add ) . It was a task, a rather difficult one at that, but he managed to do so without all too much problems. The train to Shibuya was as packed as it always was. Several people started to whisper at the sight of him- he could already hear what they were trying to say. Yes, he knew he had gone against the Phantom Thieves before. yes, he knew people disliked him because of his actions. And yes, he was "that" Akechi. No need to rub it in and ask loud enough for everyone to hear on the whole vehicle. 

And as imagined, his personas had to interfere as well. 

They're as thick as that blond monkey you talked about. ignore them. 

Language, Loki. 

Whatcha gonna do about it, Archer? Cut out my tongue? I'd like to see you try. 

Akechi signed heavily, "Stop arguing." it was prompt enough to shut their voices out temporarily- but once the silence waved over him on his walk towards their hideout, Robin Hood and Loki continued their blabbing. Goro's headache was growing stronger every second- with every sound they had to make- but ignoring it felt like the best thing to do. 

Either way, it was annoying and unnecessary. 

Entering Leblanc, he gave a soft smile to Sojiro. He made some small talk, but the older man already knew why he was there. Without wasting all too much time, he informed Goro on the presence of Akira and his friends in the attic, and invited him to go upstairs as well. Goro smiled, thanked him, and made his way up the cramped stairs. All the while, the files were still pressed to his chest. He knocked upon the door, though it was already open. Entering the room, Akechi was nearly tackled with the presence of everyone but one- Sakamoto had not arrived, though he could care less. He knew how the boy thought of him and frankly, he hated to be associated with him. Not that he let it on. If he did, he might just get all of the Phantom Thieves on his back. 

"Ah, apologies. I had not thought it was already this late. Did I miss something?" Akechi's voice remained as formal as ever. Akira shook his head, though Morgana spoke first. 

"Not yet- we were about to start though." Goro took it as an invitation to put down his files and slide down in a chair, not losing his posh composure. He crossed his legs, as his arms, and listened in to several requests for Mementos- about 4 were counted so far. Not bad, it could be much worse, he supposed. It wouldn't be all too hard to finish those in time- Mementos was at this point easier and less exhausting than infiltrating a palace. 

Right before they were about to enter it in the Metanav, Akechi interrupted. 

"Might I add a request as well?" Everyone stopped in their tracks to gaze at Goro, not so sure if he meant it or not. Akira nodded.

"There has been an unsolved case given to me by my colleagues. It concerns reports of a man following people, yet disappearing when near being found. The only link so far is that every person whom has reported something, has a connection to Shujin Academy," he licked his lips briefly, "If I may, I would like to ask some shadows if they know more of this man, and perhaps, if they have encountered him. If my deductions are right, he may be looking for someone, and before their time runs out, I want to know who."

\- - - 

Time had struck by easily, chains had started to rattle in the distance. Akechi knew well enough, as did everyone else, that the Reaper might show up soon. There was only one last target to defeat for the day, and after that, there was not much left to do. They exited the area after obtaining as much treasure as they possibly could, and ended up driving around the different hallways. It seemed that their target was in a much lower area than expected- and after a long drive in which all of the Thieves could charge up, they arrived at a Safe Room. It had taken more than just an hour to complete the previous target, and even with as much time as he had to charge up, it still was a lot. On the other hand, he could feel his most-used persona ( the only one everyone knew about ) become stronger and more fearless, something he greatly thought fit. It was a feeling as addicting as drugs- which, by the way, he had never even considered taking- yet found himself making a metaphor. 

Looking back on their progress, he had not been able to gather any information surrounding their 'invisible' mystery man. None of the shadows had faced him, and they all thanked the stars that they hadn't. A logical thing to do, Akechi knew that, yet he found himself thinking it was pretty inconvenient how even shady people did not know the talk of town. Weren't they supposed to know every single thing that had ever happened? 

Maybe he could ask that reporter that Joker had referenced- Though he had forgotten her name for a brief moment, he knew the possibility of seeing her near a bar in Shinjuku were high. It was where she was seen most, after all. That lady was made of shade- and yet, her articles sold. Goro could not figure out why. 

He was released from his stream of thought as Yusuke gently called his name next to him. Apologising, which seemed to be something he had to do rather often lately, was the first thing he did once again. No one replied to it anyways. The Thieves got out of the bus and Mona transformed to his cat-like form ( there was no point in hiding the resemblance ) and called out for the very last target of the day. Another battle they'd seemingly win. 

And they did. Last time around, it was Goro's granted moment of truth. 

"Have you heard of a man that has been following people around Shujin Academy?" though the brunet did not expect a coherent reply, the young, shivering boy nodded. He spoke up in a shaky voice.

"They call him 'The Shadow of Shujin'. Some people say he--" But the boy couldn't finish his sentence as he faded away to reality, and his treasure appeared. Akechi damned himself inwardly, yet left Mementos with a sense of pride;

Finally, he knew he'd have a solid case.


End file.
